Reflections on art, fitness, family, politics and literature that hit me like bricks as I chauffeur my children from place to place...

A pink taxi

November 14, 2010

The Tao of Pooh

My husband didn't just serenade me with Amr Diab when we first met. He had to do much more to conquer me. First, he switched to drinking coffee as he was an Afghan tea drinker before I met him. How can anyone date me without drinking coffee? We just wouldn't have been on the same wave length.

Then he had to cook every dish in "Food for Life", the Iranian cook book, in a very systematic way, given my type A character. We used to try each and every recipe. He used to even accompany me to the dreaded supermarket to purchase groceries, something he strongly dislikes to this day! However, he made Starmarket and Bread and Circus part and whole of our dating habits.

I can continue to list the various sacrifices and kind gestures of love my husband gave me, but this blog posting is about a book and its philosophy. Before I begin the storytelling I will admit that during our courtship I also proved my commitment to him: I began to drink tea, I pushed my nonexisting cooking skills and began experimenting with salads and baking. I also spent a lot of time in dreaded computer stores!

One of the first gifts my husband gave me was "The Tao of Pooh". I didn't get the Tao part of it. Just the Pooh. Some may have read it deeper. I understood it literally because Pooh's philosophy is about the simplicity of life. The yellow bear's quest for honey is his happiness and fullfillment. The journey is what matters and the anticipation is unequaled.

That book always reminds me that the search for honey can be even more pleasant than its actual consumption. That is why I build up events for my children, count days, to help them anticipate those special moments in life. It is the Advent Calendar philosophy before Christmas: you open one window a day and all the while you are building up for that special occasion.

1 comment:

The blogger was the first to discover Starbucks and its famous stars.When we visited her in Boston,she introduced us to Bagel and cream cheese,together with the now famous coffee maker.She also took us to our first Sushi meal,where her avant garde aunt took her for the first time.It is so nice to be able to adjust to one's children's new tastes in food,and sometimes in books and music.What is harder to do,is to adjust to the whims and tastes of the grandchildren!

About Me

The pink taxi runs from 7 am to 7pm. It picks and drops off my 3 kids at school, ballet,judo, aikido, violin, climbing, riding, squash, basketball, skiing, skating, swim team, friends, grandparents and teachers. The car, not pink, but a black SUV, drives to Carrefour and Coop. To Club stretch for pilates and Aviation club for weekly workouts. It is driven by a woman who navigates on the radio, gets DJed by her 4 year old or sometimes quietly reflects. The thoughts are about politics, family, humor, literature, art or fitness. Sometimes they are excruciatingly longwinded, other times they are gossipy and hot.
I hope you will all enjoy!
Love,
PinkTaxiBlogger